Ashland Boys Tennis

Last spring the Ashland boy’s tennis team finished with a 6-10 record and once again failed to make the tournament. In fact the Clockers male racketeers have not ventured into the State Tournament for some time; the last time they were able to do so was 7 years ago in 2011.
Although the Clockers did lose their number one singles players who went undefeated last year on the courts, Coach Mike Roman is optimistic that the boys can get to the tournament this year.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids who are pretty good tennis players,” Roman said. “We also have some experienced older players giving us a good mix. My goal, which I believe is obtainable, is to go .500 and make the tournament.”
As of May 11th the Clockers were 6-4 through the first 10 games and only two wins away from obtaining their goal of advancing into the tournament. Ashland has been making great strides; after losing earlier in the season to Bishop Stang 4-1, Ashland turned the tides with a 4-1 victory of the team they lost to the first time around.
Leading Ashland onto the court playing singles are two sophomores and a senior captain. Playing number one singles for the Clockers is sophomore Danny Ramones, who moved up one notch from last year. The second year player brings a very polished game to the courts, unfortunately is usually going up against some of the better players.
“Danny is always facing older athletes due to his young age, so it’s usually a tough battle for him and that brings a lot of pressure,” the Ashland Coach said.
Another sophomore, Jonathan Lee is taking part in his first varsity season playing second singles this spring. According to Roman, the first year player has worked extremely hard to get better and make the team this year and is a very disciplined player.
Senior Captain Nathan Brouwers wraps up the singles circuit for the Clockers playing in the third slot. Brouwers has previously played doubles for Ashland, but has shown he has the ability to play singles as well.
“Nathan is a very good all-around player,” Roman said. “We can put him just about anywhere and get a good performance out of him.”
Holding down the first doubles team are juniors Ari Dinerman and Colby Weiss. While Dinerman is playing for the first time, Weiss was on the first doubles team last season.
“The two have worked very well together and Colby has guided Ari along,” the Coach said. “Being friends they have jelled relatively quickly and have very similar styles of play.”
Senior Captain Cody Silverman and sophomore Andre Agostinelli will play on the final court as the team’s second double tandem.
Playing in the Tri-Valley League, which has many powerful tennis teams such as Dover-Sherborn, Westwood, Medfield and Hopkinton, makes it difficult for the Clockers to grab a piece of the league championship, but Roman is hoping that his team can put forth their best effort on the court and earn that covenant tournament berth.
“We have a group of hard working individuals,” he said. “And although somewhat of a young team (3 sophomores, 2 juniors and 2 seniors) we still have a shot of playing above .500.”